Bob Costas Says It Was a Mistake to Make Gun Control Comments After Belcher Murder-Suicide

Just when you see someone prominent take a principled position, you then see the money and power starting to kick in and take over. Bob Costas has been under fire from people who want him fired after he made controversial comments after the murder-suicide involving Jovan Belcher of the Kansas City Chiefs. Belcher shot his girlfriend, Kassandra Perkins and then himself after an argument over the weekend.

On Sunday Night Football, Costas used his platform to speak against gun control. Citing a column written by Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports, Costas said, “if Jovan Belcher didn’t possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins [Belcher’s girlfriend] would both be alive today.”

On the Dan Patrick Show, Costas went out of his way to say that the remarks were a “mistake.” He also said that he would have liked more time to be clear on what he was trying to say. He cited that much of the backlash he received was from the “gun lobby,” but that much of the response was positive.

“For a long time, I’ve been wanting to get off my chest my disgust with this idea that every time something tragic happens, no matter what it may be, that in any way touches sports, there’s a chorus of people saying, ‘you know, this really puts it in perspective.’ Which is a bunch of nonsense, because if that was true, we wouldn’t have to have that perspective adjusted every time the next tragedy occurs. It’s a bunch of nonsense. And what I was trying to say was, that if you want some perspective on this, there are a number of issues related to this that we could begin to talk about and think about.”